Faroe Islands rue the missed chances for a 2-2 draw against Georgia and lose 1-3 in the end
March 28, 2007: UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifier, Group B:
Georgia - Faroe Islands 3-1 (2-0)
1-0 David Siradze 25'
2-0 Aleksandr Iashvili 45'
2-1 Rógvi Jacobsen 57'
3-1 Aleksandr Iashvili 90' (+3) (pen.)
The Faroe Islands played their best match for a long time and were close to pull off a 2-2 draw against Georgia, but a couple of missed 100% opportunities were squandered, and in stoppage time, Georgia made it 3-1 with a penalty.
Gerorgia quickly took control of the match and 4 minutes into the first half, they tested the Faroese defense for the first time with two successive corners.
On 9 minutes, Aleksandr Iashvili was given acres of space in the penalty area after a corner, but his powerful shot was straight on goalkeeper Jákup Mikelsen in the Faroese goal.
Half a minute later, Mikkelsen watched a long range effort from Gorgia go close by.
12 minutes into the half, the Georgian forward met the cross from Georgi Shashiashvili on the right with a dicing header which smashed against the upright.
The Gerogian pressure eased a bit after that about a quarter of an hour into the match, Andrew av Fløtum tried to outwit the Georgian goalkeeper with an opportunistic lob from 20 meters, but the ball dropped harmlessly onto the roof of the net.
5 minutes later, Mikkjal Thomassen tried his luck from long distance, but the Georgian goalkeeper Georgi Lomaia wasn't troubled by this shot either.
25 minutes into the first half, Georgia took the lead with a goal from David Siradze from close range. A through-ball was played between two Faroese defenders to a Georgian player in the penalty area who didn't gain control of the ball, but however, the ball bounced back to a clear Siradze who fired the ball into the back of the net.
3 minutes later, Súni Olsen shot a free kick straight on the Geaorgian goalkeeper with a combined cross/shot.
2 minutes from half time, Georgia nearly doubled their lead when Iashvili turned on a plate and hooked the ball narrowly over the crossbar.
In the first half's stoppage time, Georgia doubled their lead. A through-ball found Kobiashvili in the penalty area on the right, and from the by-line, he squared the ball to Iashvili who stepped in front of the Faroese defender to sweep the ball over the line, in front of 3 onlooking Faroese defenders.
The Faroe Islands had a decent opportunity after this (still in the first half), but Christian Lamhauge Holst's header dipped onto the roof of the net after a good cross from Jákup á Borg on the right.
It can't be said that the Faroese finishes in the first half had been particularly dangerous, but nevertheless, it was more than the Faroe Islands had produced for many matches, and it gave some hope of a goal in the second half.
And the Faroes continued to create these… shall we call them "quarter-chances"?
Six minutes after the break, Súni Olsen had a long range effort with pace and swerve, but again it was straight on the Georgian goalkeeper.
The Faroese players were frequenting the Georgian half more and more, and after 55 minutes, the Faroes finally scored a goal, after 595 minutes of goal- drought in open play. And when it came, it was a fine goal:
Óli Johannesen knocks a long free kick from the Faroes' own half upfield where Rógvi Jacobsen extends it with his head to Jákup á Borg on the right, and he turns and dribbles and plays the ball back to Rógvi Jacobsen inside the penalty area, who again plays the ball to Súni Olsen on the right byline, and with a smart body-feint, he unbalances the defender and makes a curling cross to the far post, where Rógvi Jacobsen sidefoots the ball into the goal.
1-1 and the Faroe Islands now had the initiative and an equalizer wasn't unrealistic.
And 4 minutes later, it so nearly became 2-2. Christian Høgni Jacobsen on the left shrugged of a defender and drove a low shot at goal from 20 meters which the Georgian goalkeeper couldn't hold on to, and Jákup á Borg was first on the rebound, but his shot went wide of the left post of the gaping goal.
However, 3 minutes later, the Faroe Islands were hampered severely, when Fróði Benjaminsen was sent off for a second bookable offence after some scuffle with a Georgian player, but it didn't appear to be that serious and looked like a harsh second yellow for Benjaminsen.
If the struggle was uphill before, it had now become perpendicular with the man in deficit.
On 67 minutes, Jákup Mikkelsen in the Faroese goal had to be alert to divert a shot from Jaba Kankava around the post. And in the same minute, Mikkelsen blocked a shot from an acute angle at his near post to corner.
8 minutes from time, Georgia nearly made it 3-1, but Mikkelsen blocked the shot from a clear Georgi Demetradze in the goal area.
But just 2 minutes later, the Faroes should have equalized. A long ball was played into the Georgian penalty area where Rógvi Jacobsen once again won the air-duel, and the ball fell to a completely clear Christian Lamhauge Holst, but his shot was straight on the legs of Lomaia in the Georgian goal. Chances don't come bigger than that!
Instead, Georgia made it 3-1 on a penalty 2 minutes into stoppage time when Demetradze went down in the penalty area. Maybe the challenge from captain Óli Johannsen was a bit clumsy with an arm on Demetradze's back, but the Georgian player also clearly knew how to fall, as he threw his legs backwards into the air, as if he had been tripped.
Aleksandr Iashvili made no mistake from the spot and sent goalkeeper Jákup Mikkelsen the wrong way and secured Georgia a 3-1 win.
On a positive note, the Faroes played their best game for a long time and managed to score their first goal of the campaign and also created other opportunities, but however, it won't be as easy to score against Italy (if it ever was easy against Georgia) and even more difficult will it be to prevent Italy and Luka Tony, who later this evening scored twice against Scotland, from scoring, when world champions Italy visit the Faroe Islands on June 6.
See standing here.
| Faroese Soccer |
|Home of SoccerandEquipment |